The Midnight Club

Book Description

"Guaranteed: you'll devour this yarn-burner in one sitting."NEW YORK DAILY NEWSJohn Stefanovich, a tough New York cop, has one mission in life--to nab Alexandre St. Germain, the most treacherous and powerful member of the Midnight Club--a secret international society whose membership is limited to an elite group of ruthless crime czars, all of whom are "respectable" businessmen. Blasted by St. Germain's shotgun, Stef is left in a wheelchair, but no less determined. With the help of a beautiful journalist and a Harlem cop, Stef is determined to crack the Midnight Club And he's up against odds that are as unknown as they are deadly....

Customer Reviews:

Boilerplate thriller.......2007-09-05

The über-bad guy who's invincible until the end. The cop bent on revenge. The rogue cop. The secret criminal society a la The Godfather on steroids. Bits and pieces of every thriller we've read are here on display. The bits and pieces fit adequately well, and the plot (the New York Cop and the Intrepid Reporter take down criminal mastermind with the help of the Feds) moves along. It's a decent airport read, but no more than that.

Pure hokum.......2006-12-29

Isn't it about time to put the paranoia sub-genre to rest? It's been done over and over. The hero just can't trust anyone. The villain is a superman with absolutely no morals. I've read most of the James Patterson novels, and he vacillates between really good and pure nonsense. This book is from the latter end.

The sadistic and perverse sex doesn't add anything to the book. Really, now, naked 12-year old girls? Torture? Rape? I'm not a prude, but I objected to all this sexual melange because it was obvious that the writer threw it in, not because it developed the plot but because it would--well, you supply the rest of that.

Patterson has given us much better books. Much, much, much better. This one is a waste of paper and reading time.

not bad- not a home run.......2006-06-15

This is my second Patterson book, and the jury is still out on him for me. It's always a little hard to be critical of someone who you know could write circles around you, but hey, that's what Monday morning quarterbacking is all about.

On the plus side the story is faced-paced, the characters well-developed and reasonable to very good dialogue, always tough for writers. The short chapters keep the action from having pacing problems. The plot is basically credible, and the actions of NYPD and FBI seem credible to me- but then Patrol Boy was as close as I ever got to law enforcement.

The down side for me was probably the characters. Even though they were well developed, I didn't find them terribly likeable, and by the end didn't much care what happened to them. This may be pure crankiness on my part, but I don't think so.

The plot, without giving too much away, is as follows: The protagonist, or hero even, is a youngish (to me) NYPD Lieutenant who tangles with a sophisticated underworld personified by a man they call The Grave Dancer. He is an anti-James Bond, at once cosmopolitan and violent, and frankly seemed to overmatch the Pennsylvania farm boy turned cop (I forget his name, and I finished it yesterday-it's that kind of book) who is out hero.

There is a bit of family tragedy, to say the least, and- now I remember his name- Stef- is bent on revenge against the Grave Dancer. Along the way he teams up with a female writer who seems to be given Carte Blanc by NYPD, kind of made an honorary police chief or something- going on stakeouts and even taking over watches. This I find a little tough to swallow, but the book was written in '89, and she was good looking, so allowances could've been made.

The final ending was not bad- and even good books don't always end well, so it's somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. It definitely was not a page turner for me, but again, the short chapters kept it from stalling. Recommend if you like his other books or police action.

Okay on audio, but not his finest!.......2006-03-17

This is a bit too convoluted with characters to hold interest and some of the characters aren't developed as well as they are in most of Patterson's books. I've read many of the non-Alex Cross books and found them as wonderful as all the others, including the Murder Club series...but this one just wasn't my favorite. I found myself hurrying through it without fully listening just so I could move on to another book. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, still better than a lot of mystery authors' works, but just not the full greatness of James Patterson!

Audio Version Keeps the Treadmill Running.......2006-02-16

I don't usually care for James Patterson's non-Alex Cross books, so I was a little wary of this, one of his earlier books. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the story, which kept me on the edge of the treadmill, so to speak. The main character, John Stefanovitch (Stef), is a good, strong, believable character who rebounds from a brutal attack that leaves him in a wheelchair to take down St. Germain (the Grave Dancer) who organized the ambush in which Stef was injured and who killed Stef's wife.

We catch up with Stef two years after the ambush. He has returned to his job on the NYPD and is still determined to bring the Grave Dancer down and to fight against organized crime. Stef is smart and tough and in no way a victim. Sarah, a true-crime writer who is writing a book about the Midnight Club, a group of organized crime leaders, is also a good, strong character and is more than a match for Stef. The relationship that develops between them is realistic and unforced.

However, it is the young police officer, Isaiah Parker, who steals the show. He is a terrific character- young, idealistic, and determined that good should prevail over evil through whatever means necessary. This book raises the interesting issue of how does good fight against evil when all legal methods fail. The way the book answers the question is gratifying.

Full credit must be given to the narrator of the audio version, Robert Forster. He uses his voice to give life to the various characters, with the different people easily recognizable by the voices used.

If I have a problem with the book, it is the question of why it did not occur to any of these people that Sarah and her son would be an obvious target for the crime lords and take steps to protect them. But that's a minor quibble and in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the book.

Midnight Club(tm) 3: DUB Edition Official Strategy Guide (Signature)

Average customer rating:

is the best
Quite useful to have when playing
Great Game...great book!

Midnight Club(tm) 3: DUB Edition Official Strategy Guide (Signature)
Tim Bogenn
Manufacturer: BRADY GAMES
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0744004322

Book Description

BradyGames' Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Official Strategy Guide includes the following:

Racing Prowess: You need street smarts to beat the competition and unlock valuable upgrades and vehicles. We know what it takes to dominate every challenge in every modeâincluding multiplayer racing online!
Route Maps: We’ve charted ever checkpoint for every raceâincluding the essential shortcuts to ensure victory.
Car Showroom: A garage full of every vehicle in the game, including important stats and specs for each one.
Customization: Trick out your vehicle with the latest rims, trims, and upgrades. We reveal the myriad customization choices.
Bonus Fold-out: Find every hidden Rockstar icon in all three cities!

Platform: PlayStation 2 and Xbox

Genre: Racing Game

This product is available for sale worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

is the best.......2007-01-05

is good trategy guide it shows u almost everything n it makes more easy to play n also show u all the cars the game have...

Quite useful to have when playing.......2005-10-17

This is a good guide to have if there is a race that you would like help with. I recommend that those who are going to want to play the game get this guide as it does help and it has very nice maps of the races. I thought that the guide should have more info on the various vehicles though.

Great Game...great book!.......2005-05-15

I love this game (midnight Club 3) and would recommend anyone with a small interest in cars to buy it...way better than NFUS2 (need for speed underground 2)....anyway the strategy guide....alot of people mite not want or need this but if you do its not a bad one!....Tells you nearly everything about racing, customisation, cars and much more...I'd say the only problem would be it mite be a bit hard to read at first (the maps) if you dont realy know the tracks.....Defenet Buy!!!

Average customer rating:

NOT A Horror Story, but not bad
Really deep... not scary
Like all Christopher Pike books - AMAZING
Don't miss it
The work of a sick and twisted mind.

The Midnight Club
Christopher Pike
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 067187263X

Customer Reviews:

NOT A Horror Story, but not bad.......2007-07-19

This book has been noted as being one of Pike's best, but I have to disagree. First of all, the back synopsis is completely misleading on what the story is actually about. Yes, there are 5 kids in a hospice who meet every night at Midnight to tell stories. Yes, they agree that when the first one dies they are to try and make contact. Thats about it. It also says that when the first person dies thats when their stories really begin and thats also true - however the first character doesn't die until 2/3 of the way into the book.

The book is mainly about how your past lives tie in with your current life and also your next life. Its based around the stories that each character tells at their midnight meetings - most of these stories wouldn't fall into the horror category either, save a few tales. It was an ok story, just not what the publisher leads you to believe.

Other issues I had were the long chapters. It made the book drag a bit for me, having all of the characters stories from their midnight meetings in one big chapter. You start to forget who told which story and what it was about by then end of the book.

All in all, if you're interested in a story about past lives or meeting people from your past you should give this a read. Don't go into this thinking that its a thriller though!

Really deep... not scary .......2007-05-03

Huge fan of Christopher Pike novels since I was about 11 years old. My fave from him is 'Remember Me'. I'm 26 now and recently decided to read this again because I don't think I ever finished it when I was younger. I'm glad I did. It's about a group of teens that are terminally ill and form a club in which they swap stories. This book includes a lot of "mini-stories" which are told by the characters themselves. Don't worry, they're not boring!! The mini-stories are actually very interesting, funny, and profound. This book has nothing SCARY about it what-so-ever. If you like the ideas of past lives, the after-life, God/Gods, spirituality, and SOULMATES*, you will like this book and maybe leak out a tear here and there. In general, I'd say it's a "deep" book. I would highly recommend this to any young adult, and maybe EVEN an adult because of the way Pike's imagination centers around questions anyone at any age wonders about - love, life and death. Not much sexual content at ALL so it'd be ok for a teen. Disregard one of the reviews below about it being really sexual. I have no idea WHAT they are talking about. Enjoy.

Like all Christopher Pike books - AMAZING.......2006-04-15

I love ALL Christopher Pike's book, and this one has to be one of my favourites.

Christopher Pike has a tendency to write an ending that leaves the reader in shock, devestated even of what happened to the main character, yet at the same time you cannot truly feel sad because usually, what happened to that character, was in reality the best that COULD happen to that character...

this book was different.. probably his only one like this... where in the end.. it was just tragic. There's no bright side to it, it was plainly, tragic. When I was finished I was slightly in shock that he ended it that way, and I was afraid to look at the book even for the next three weeks. This is how well written it was.

I would recommend it to everyone out there.

Don't miss it.......2005-10-29

Here it is. Christopher Pike's masterpiece. Yes, he's a teen horror writer. No, his books won't outlast Austen's or Dickens.' So what? Like Stephen King, he's a damn good writer, one of the best of our era, and in Midnight Club he's at his peak. Read this one for its sheer inventiveness, read The Last Vampire for action, and read Whisper of Death for the ultimate chill. Read all of them for expertly crafted setting and mood, tight plotting, and characters that are both unpretentiously created and totally compelling. While most of his characters are "normal," their traits are heightened enough from those of ordinary people to make them truly engaging.

This book has everything from comedy to sci-fi to drama to romance, and it also marks the point when Pike's "Eastern mysticism" kick started to go overboard. But here, it's just enough.

Like Roald Dahl, Pike succeeds because he doesn't write "down" to his audience. It's a travesty that he's lumped in with R.L. Stine, which is like lumping in Stephen King with Dean Koontz. One's a great original; the other's just very proficient in the genre, sending boxes down the assembly line. Read Pike and you'll feel a master at work.

The work of a sick and twisted mind........2005-07-27

"Whenever you look at him, it looks like you want to..." This quote ought to give you an idea of the tact this book takes. Disgusted, we didn't bother to finish it. The story seemed to be about one thing: sex. The gratuitous sexual content in the book truly disgusted us. If you have a copy, tear it up in little tiny pieces. We did.Christopher Pike has a dirty mind.
~~~~~RaRa and SaMara~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Average customer rating:

The Midnight Mystery (Cul-de-sac Kids)
Beverly Lewis
Manufacturer: Bethany House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764221299
Release Date: 2001-01-01

Book Description

After an ice cream party to celebrate the last day of school, Dunkum's cousin Ellen's seeing-eye-dog disappears, and the Cul-de-sac Kids get help from an unexpected source in solving the mystery. Ages 7-10. Cul-de-sac Kids book 24.

The Cat and the King of Clubs (Five Star Standard Print Mystery Series)

Average customer rating:

Midnight Louie is the cat's pajamas!
An Excellent Book
Excellent, great fun and fast moving.
Midnight Louie's first great tale

The Cat and the King of Clubs (Five Star Standard Print Mystery Series)
Carole Nelson Douglas
Manufacturer: Five Star (ME)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Cat Sleuths | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0786219203

Customer Reviews:

Midnight Louie is the cat's pajamas!.......2005-12-03

I was lucky to stumble onto this author and find this book before any of her others. From the first page, I couldn't put the book down. Midnight Louie is the narrator and what makes this so great? He's a cat! And every so many chapters, he gets to interject.

This fun story is set in the playground of vintage Vegas, which brings back that old magic. The author time warps you to experience all of the glitz and blinding neon of the city and really makes you feel like you are there with the characters. I totally fell in love with Nicky Fontana and Miss Van von Rhine and I'm thrilled that there are three more books in this series!

This is a beautiful love story with classic romance without getting gushy. It also has elements of mystery woven in that don't all get explained. I also loved the way the author put words together making the language poetic without being flowery.

But my favorite part was the end where, after the story is told, there is an interview between the cat and the author, explaining things in the book and about the series that you weren't clued in on. You really start to believe the cat is real! I highly recommend this book.

An Excellent Book.......2000-02-09

I really enjoyed this book. Going back to before the series as we know it began and getting history on some of the characters gives the book another dimension. This book would be interesting reading in and of itself, but as an avid fan of the Midnight Louie series, I was thrilled. I can wait to read the remaining three from the beginning of the series.

Excellent, great fun and fast moving........1999-08-14

I have all of Carole Nelson Douglas Midnight Louie and Irene books. Love them and hope they keep coming. Also, get the audios every chance I get. Thanks for hours of enjoyment. I find them very absorbing and entertaining.Wish they came out faster.

Midnight Louie's first great tale.......1999-05-22

Though his family is renowned as Mafiosi, Nicky Fontana runs a completely legal business. He currently plans to renovate an aging Las Vegas landmark into a major, first class casino. He hires Van Von Rhine to oversee the operation, giving her a budget of just under $8 million.

However, an unknown assailant wants Nicky to fail. That individual will do anything to make sure that the renovation project fails. Midnight Louie, feline private eye extraordinaire, decides to investigate in order to expose the culprit. As Louie snoops, Van struggles with adapting to the Vegas glitter as well as her personal attraction to Nicky.

THE CAT AND THE KING OF CLUBS is the full version of Midnight Louie's debut novel. The publisher sliced and diced this tale and the subsequent three other books that made up the original series. However, Carole Nelson Douglas has brought the gem back to its original glittering self. The who-done-it story line remains fresh and even more fulfilling this time around as Louie shows why he owns the universe. Fans of the series will take great pleasure with this "expanded" reprint. The audience will feel elation over the upcoming release of the other three tales from the original set that established Louie as one of the best feline sleuths on the prowl.

Book Description

BradyGames' Midnight Club II Official Strategy Guide features comprehensive racing strategies, including critical stats of each vehicle. Shortcuts, jumps, and secret paths revealed. Tips for unlocking ultra-fast vehicles, plus exclusive information on the different types of vehicles. Maps for every urban course, including the new cities of Paris, L.A., and Tokyo.

Average customer rating:

The Midnight Club

Manufacturer: Doubleday Direct
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0739404091

4 PBs by James Patterson: Jester, Midnight Club, Black Friday, Suzanne's Diary

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4 PBs by James Patterson: Jester, Midnight Club, Black Friday, Suzanne's Diary
James Patterson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VHJ3LE

Product Description

Paperbacks

7 Titles By Saul - The God Project - Hell Fire - The Manhattan Hunt Club - The Unwanted - Sleepwalk - Right Hand of Evil - Midnight Voices

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7 Titles By Saul - The God Project - Hell Fire - The Manhattan Hunt Club - The Unwanted - Sleepwalk - Right Hand of Evil - Midnight Voices
John Saul
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000QFMSRM

Product Description

Multiple books shipped as one item. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.

Average customer rating:

After Midnight A Good Read

After Midnight Book Club Edition
Richard Laymon
Manufacturer: Headline Book Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0747223602

Customer Reviews:

After Midnight A Good Read.......2006-04-26

Richard Laymon died a few years back, but his wife makes sure that those of us who missed his original 30+ books gets a chance to see what we missed. This book came out orginally in 1997 but has resurfaced in March 2006. Two other paperbacks come out later in 2006. Richard Laymon has been linked to horror stories, perhaps unjustly. After Midnight does get a bit gory, but it is also a good read. There are none of the so-called "Monsters" that would remind you of Hollywood, but Laymon shows a bit of a human monster in every book. There are killers, serial murderers, an unlucky ouija board, vampires (maybe), and plenty of sexual interaction to keep the stories moving. Alice, the heroine of After Midnight, has a strange evening, and you'll want to see how she gets out of it.

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